This invention is directed to a sign face frame and more particularly to a sign face frame which can be secured to a wall of a building, or to an existing sign which includes an integral flange to assist in assembly of a sign.
This invention is an improvement over U.S. Pat. No. 4,488,368 which is directed to a sign with a perimeter flange for universally mounting a sign face. The patent allowed for a single sided sign frame containing a face that could be universally mounted to buildings, structures and was later adopted fore, use as an attachment to sign base frames. The drawback of the identical mounting flanges on all sides of the structure was the alignment in the field which was cumbersome.
In the advertising industry the use of display devices including those being interiorly illuminated and which are either permanently or temporarily mounted at a given location are, of course, very well known in the art. The particular configuration or construction of the sign utilized in any given advertising application depends upon such things as type of business goods or services being advertised, location in which the sign or display device is to be located and the particular segment of the public to which the advertisement is directed. Because of these many diverse applications there is of course a demand for various types of signs. This demand for such a wide variety of sign structures necessarily raises the cost of production and also that of maintenance since many of the signs utilized today have to be made to :individual specifications.
Other disadvantages inherent in the production and use of custom made signs includes the cost involved in installing these signs which frequently equals or exceeds the actual production cost. Since up to the present time no one single sign structure has had the versatility to satisfy the wide variety of advertising needs, the installation of the varying sign structures would also have to be done on a custom installation type basis. Since a custom built sign was normally utilized and adapted to a particular location and application workers involved in installing these custom made structures would often times be dealing with completely different types of structures of which they had no general knowledge or experience. Because of the above factors, the time and expense involved in installing these prior art sign face structures is relatively great.
Large scale or mass production of a substantially standard display device capable of being applied to various uses is, of course, highly desirable in that this type of manufacturing serves to lower the cost of production. Maintenance of a standard type sign will also be less expensive since repair or servicing of such a sign could be done on a replacement part type basis. However, as pointed out above the diverse application for which these face frame signs are needed and used normally would prevent a sign structure from being mass produced. For this reason, mass production of a generally standard type sign, which is to effective for various applications, has been relatively unknown in the advertising industry. In devising production methods for producing such signs, labor, production time and necessary equipment are all prime factors. In addition, the ultimate appearance of the sign itself must always be kept in mind.
One of the most important structural features of any sign is of course, the display face used for advertising of the various services or goods. Naturally, the display face itself is what is primarily observed by the public. It can therefore be seen that the production of a display face which would be adapted to fit various sign structures and which itself is aesthetically pleasing yet eye catching, could greatly reduce the cost of "customized" sign structures. Such face frame, if available, could be applied to almost any of the conventionally designed prior art structures available today.
Because of these and other commonly known problems prevalent in the advertising and sign making industry, there has been a long felt need for a display face device incorporating a display face which is versatile enough to be adapted to a number of various advertising structures. At the same time, such a display device and display face structure must include a relatively simple, low cost construction capable of being easily maintained and transported to any given location. Ideally, such a structure would be of somewhat standard type construction which is capable of being built through the application of mass production techniques. In addition, the versatility of such a structure would include its being readily used for various applications while at the same time being capable of efficiently and aesthetically advertising any desired subject matter.